Bill will provide vital water infrastructure

The Water Resources Development Act recently passed the Senate by an overwhelming majority.

That is good news for the nation and excellent news for Louisiana.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a co-author of the bill, called it "one of the single most significant pieces of legislation for Louisiana that we'll vote on this year," according to an article by Gannett Washington reporter Deborah Barfield Berry.

He may be right. The bi-partisan bill provides for waterway and infrastructure projects that include flood protection and restoration of ecosystems and barrier island shorelines in Louisiana.

That kind of restoration and prevention is vital in a state that has been repeatedly inundated in the past decade by the storm surges and torrential rains of hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as the flooding that occurred in 2011 when the Mississippi River crested at record levels.

The bill will create about 500,000 jobs nationwide on projects that include improving roads and bridges, as well as dredging and port improvement projects. Sponsors say it will also provide the means to improve the performance of the Army Corps of Engineers.

In Louisiana, one of the most significant effects of the bill will be that it will get the Morganza to the Gulf Hurricane Protection System moving again. It has been at a standstill for years, mostly because of its $12.9 million price tag.

The system will consist of about 98 miles of earthen levees, 22 floodgates, 23 environmental water control structures and one lock system to protect 150,000 residents in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. It is designed to provide up to Category 3 storm surge protection, according to morganza.org.

That in itself makes the legislation worthwhile for Louisiana residents. But the WRDA provides for other projects that will benfefit the state. Among them are the Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project, the Terrebonne Basin Barrier Shoreline Restoration and the Barataria Basin Barrier Shoreline Restoration project.

In addition, the bill would require that more of the money collected by the federal Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund be spent on dredging and maintenance projects.

The only downside to the bill is that an amendment proposed by Vitter and his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Mary Landrieu, which would delay hikes on some National Flood Insurance Program policies by five years, was not included

After its 83-14 victory in the Senate, the Water Resources Development Act will move to the House for debate.

There, it has already found a proponent in U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, who has urged his colleagues in the House to move quickly on the bill.

We join him in urging lawmakers to pass this needed piece of legislation.

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Bill will provide vital water infrastructure

The Water Resources Development Act recently passed the Senate by an overwhelming majority.